Czasem wolę być sam w domu.

Sometimes I prefer to be alone at home.

Breakdown of Czasem wolę być sam w domu.

• ja: I
• być: to be
• dom: the house
• w: in
• czasem: sometimes
• woleć: to prefer
• sam: same

Questions & Answers about Czasem wolę być sam w domu.

What does czasem mean, and is it the same as czasami?

Czasem means sometimes. It is a shortened, very common form of czasami, and in everyday speech they are practically interchangeable.

• Czasem wolę być sam w domu.
• Czasami wolę być sam w domu.

Both are correct and natural. Czasem may sound a bit more casual/colloquial, but it’s not slang.

Why does the sentence start with Czasem? Can it go in another position?

Starting with Czasem is a neutral, common word order:

• Czasem wolę być sam w domu. – Sometimes I prefer to be alone at home.

You can also move it:

• Wolę czasem być sam w domu.
• Wolę być czasem sam w domu.

All are grammatically correct. Differences are only in slight emphasis:

• At the beginning (Czasem wolę…) – emphasizes the time/frequency (“Sometimes, I prefer…”).
• After the verb (Wolę czasem…) – emphasizes the preference, and “sometimes” feels a bit less strong.

What verb is wolę from, and what does it literally mean?

Wolę is the 1st person singular (I) present tense form of the verb woleć – to prefer.

Basic present-tense forms:

• ja wolę – I prefer
• ty wolisz – you prefer (singular, informal)
• on/ona/ono woli – he/she/it prefers
• my wolimy – we prefer
• wy wolicie – you prefer (plural)
• oni/one wolą – they prefer

So wolę = I prefer.

Why don’t we say Ja wolę? Where is the subject “I”?

In Polish, the subject pronoun (ja = I) is usually dropped because the verb ending already shows the person.

• Wolę być sam w domu. – natural, normal
• Ja wolę być sam w domu. – also correct, but emphasizes I (contrast: I prefer it, maybe others don’t).

So the sentence Czasem wolę być sam w domu. already clearly means Sometimes I prefer to be alone at home.

Why is it być sam and not something like być samotny?

Both sam and samotny relate to being alone, but they’re different:

• sam = alone (physically, with no one else present)
  
  • być sam w domu – to be at home alone
• samotny = lonely (emotionally), or a general description of someone’s life/state
  
  • On jest samotny. – He is lonely.

In this sentence we’re talking about being physically alone at home, so sam is the natural choice:
Czasem wolę być sam w domu.

Why sam and not sama?

Sam / sama / samo / sami / same must match the gender and number of the person it refers to:

• sam – masculine singular (speaker is male)
• sama – feminine singular (speaker is female)
• samo – neuter singular (rare here; for neuter nouns)
• sami – masculine personal plural (group with at least one male person)
• same – non-masculine-personal plural (all-female group or non-persons)

So:

• A man would say: Czasem wolę być sam w domu.
• A woman would say: Czasem wolę być sama w domu.

What is the difference between sam and samemu?

Both can mean “alone”:

• być sam
• być samemu

In this sentence both are possible:

• Czasem wolę być sam w domu.
• Czasem wolę być samemu w domu.

Differences:

• sam – more clearly an adjective; a bit shorter and more neutral here.
• samemu – originally a dative form but used adverbially; can sound slightly more informal or a bit more “on one’s own”.

In everyday speech, they’re extremely close in meaning in this kind of sentence.

Why is it w domu and not just dom or something else?

W means in/at and takes the locative case here.

• noun: dom (house, home)
• locative singular: domu

So:

• w domu = in/at home

You cannot say być sam dom; you need the preposition and the correct case:

• być w domu – to be at home
• sam w domu – alone at home
• być sam w domu – to be alone at home

Could the word order be Czasem wolę być w domu sam? Is that correct?

Yes, it’s grammatically correct:

• Czasem wolę być w domu sam.

Compare:

• Czasem wolę być sam w domu.
• Czasem wolę być w domu sam.

Both mean essentially the same. Moving sam can slightly change rhythm and tiny nuances of emphasis, but there is no big difference in meaning. Polish word order is relatively flexible, especially with short sentences like this.

Is there any difference between być sam w domu and zostać sam w domu?

Yes:

• być sam w domu – to be alone at home (state)
• zostać sam w domu – to end up / stay home alone (how you got into that situation)

Examples:

• Czasem wolę być sam w domu. – Sometimes I prefer to be alone at home.
• Czasem wolę zostać sam w domu. – Sometimes I prefer to stay (or be left) alone at home (instead of going out with others).

Both are natural but focus on slightly different aspects.

Why is the verb wolę in the present tense when in English we often say “I’d rather” or “I would prefer”?

Polish usually uses the present tense of woleć to express a general preference:

• Wolę kawę. – I prefer coffee. / I’d rather have coffee.
• Czasem wolę być sam w domu. – Sometimes I prefer to be alone at home. / Sometimes I’d rather be home alone.

English often uses “I’d rather” or “I would prefer”, but Polish doesn’t need a conditional form here; plain present tense wolę is the normal way to say this.

Could you use lubię instead of wolę here?

You can, but the meaning changes:

• wolę = I prefer (choosing one option over another)
• lubię = I like (I enjoy something)

Compare:

• Czasem wolę być sam w domu. – Sometimes I prefer to be alone at home (rather than e.g. going out).
• Czasem lubię być sam w domu. – Sometimes I like being alone at home (I enjoy it).

Both are correct; choose based on whether you want to stress preference or enjoyment.

Do we need any comma in Czasem wolę być sam w domu.?

No, we do not.

It’s a simple sentence with one clause. Polish does not require a comma between adverbs like czasem and the verb:

• Czasem wolę być sam w domu. – correct, no comma needed.